Living in an apartment building can sometimes mean sharing walls with a host of characters — but what about with crocodiles, elephants, dogs, and bears? Much to her delight, this is the motley crew that one little girl finds herself living amongst. Her parents, however, find all their new neighbors to be a little strange. While the little girl is enjoying the saxophone music her friendly dog neighbor plays, her parents bemoan the hair he leaves all over the stairs. When the little girl is grateful for the car wash her helpful elephant neighbors provide, her parents complain of the size of their sheets on the clothesline.  It turns out the girl's parents have a good reason to look down on everyone — they're giraffes! Fed up with their unconventional neighbors, her parents decide to move away. But the girl vows to return to live in the building again once she grows up, which is a decision her neighbors don't find strange at all!

ISABEL MINHÓS MARTINS is the author of When I Was Born and Little Lamb, Have You Any Wool? She is also the co-founder of Planeta Tangerina, a Portuguese publisher of innovative children's books. She lives in Lisbon, Portugal.

Isabel Minhós Martins' profile page

MADALENA MATOSO studied communication design at Lisbon College of Fine Arts and completed a postgraduate degree in graphic editorial design at the Faculty of Fine Arts Barcelona. She is a prolific illustrator of children's books and lives in Lisbon, Portugal.

Madalena Matoso's profile page

John Herring's profile page

• Commended, IRA Notable Book for a Global Society

"Matoso's blocky images and in-your-face red-and-blue palette give the book an ultrahip aesthetic, complete with quirky neighbors, tattooed movers, and badminton-playing elephants."

Publishers Weekly

"The messages about judging people by their actions rather than their appearances is well camouflaged by the humorous situations and is brought home all the more effectively by the non-standard ending."

Booklist

"[A] delightful story that salutes the spiritual practice of hospitality."

Spirituality & Practice

"This would be a great addition to a story time about neighborhoods, and what it means to be a neighbor."

Story Time Secrets

"Lively and bold artwork complements a story line that celebrates the chaos of urban living and the inherent tolerance of children."

ForeWord Reviews

"...a delightful children's tale."

The Best Spiritual Books of 2013

"... a unique take on acceptance."

School Library Journal

"...will have young readers wishing that their neighbors were bears, elephants and a sax-playing dog."

Books for Kids Blog

"The bold pink, red, and blue retro-styled, full-spread illustrations by Madalena Matoso are delightful, with wonderful details that children will pore over."

Resource Links Magazine

"... an entertaining story with an important message about diversity."

Canadian Review of Materials

"A story about tolerance and the diversity of urban living seen through the eyes of a little girl."

B Is for Books: Children's Book Review

"My Neighbor Is a Dog is smoothly translated with a refreshing and humorous angle on the importance of accepting others as they are."

New York Journal of Books

"Stylish and understated, this argument for tolerance is a welcome one-just like that saxophone-playing dog."

Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

My Neighbour Is a Dog

A little girl disagrees with her parents' assertion that their fellow apartment dwellers — a diverse group of crocodiles, elephants, dogs, and bears — are strange because they are different.

When teaching students about community, an important part of social studies curriculum, this picture book will help students consider what makes a good neighbour. Whether living in an apartment building or in a house, students can learn to understand — and respect — their own neighbours even if their behaviours seem strange. Family relationships are also central to this amusing story.

Also available: Arto's Big Move by Monica Arnaldo